Gasoline prices dropped over the past week, but remain considerably higher than they were a year ago, according to the American Automobile Association. The price of crude oil climbed after the dollar weakened against the euro and Exxon Mobile Corp. announced it will shut down a major Texas refinery in the preparation from the summer blend to the winter blend fuel, AAA said. "Crude oil is stuck between $70 and $80[a barrel] and will most likely yo-yo up and down in this price range for quite some time," said Jessica Brady, manager of public relations at AAA Public Relations.

Good news, drivers: AAA says retail gas prices may be nearing their peak. Prices at the pump still climbed last week, but the rate of increase slowed. The national average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline rose 3 cents during the past week to $2.69, according to a weekly price report released Sunday by AAA Auto Club South. In Florida, the average price increased by 5 cents, to nearly $2.72. A month ago, the price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in Florida was $2.40, compared with $4.03 a year ago. AAA Auto Club South said the government has reported a surplus of fuel and weak demand, which is good news for consumers.

Fairly steady crude-oil prices and little change in supply and demand caused the price of gas to flatten last week, according to a report by AAA Auto Club South. The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in Florida rose by less than a cent last week, ending at about $2.10 on Sunday. Nationally, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was $2.04, down half a cent from last week. "We still expect to see gradual increases in retail gasoline prices due largely to the supply and demand fundamentals that always contribute to an upward trend for fuel prices at this time of year," Gregg Laskoski, a spokesman for AAA Auto Club South, said in the weekly fuel-price report.